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Core 4 Supports Team Enduring Hope in the Race Across America!

In two days, Core 4 client Brad Cooper will be competing in the Race Across America as part of Team Enduring Hopewith his racing partner,Jerry Schemmel, the radio voice of the Colorado Rockies.

They will be embarking on an extremely-challenging and rewarding adventure as part of a two-man cycling relay race across the USA. From Oceanside, CA to Annapolis, MD,;from sea to shining sea! That’s 3,052 miles (430 miles per day), 170,000 feet of elevation change, and temperatures ranging from 25 to 120 degrees. Their the goal is to complete the event in under 7 days.

While it will be an epic personal challenge for Brad and Jerry, they also have higher purpose--to benefit Building Hope International, a third-world humanitarian organization. Brad was wise enough to realize he needed to be not just physically, but physiologically fit in order to survive both the race and the countless hours of training leading up to it. As an added challenge, he would need to recover completely from a series of foot stress fractures.

He contacted Core 4 in January for help with physiological assessments, and with a supplement program that would provide for both his training and racing needs...

Our initial evaluation involved an assessment of several, key metabolic serum markers including those for inflammation and GI health, bone mineral status, and hormone levels; vitamin D3, omega 3 fatty acids, and nitric oxide. The findings showed that Brad was in overall good physiological health but was had lower-than-optimal level of testosterone, and very low levels of vitamin D, significantly low levels of vitamin D, omega 3, and nitric oxide. He also had a mild bacterial imbalance in his GI tract, and tested high for oxidative stress which reduces the body's ability to create energy. These results, which are indicative of nutrient depletion, are common among endurance athletes and those who must manage consistently high levels of mental and/or physiological stress. For Brad, they served as cautionary warning. If he pushed his body to the extreme, he would not perform at peak potential. And he would be much more prone to injury or illness.

Brad began the Core 4 Foundations program with a few supplemental additions--Charge! and Pure Clean Beet Powder; and essential amino acid support. Since a break from training was not an option, he also began a targeted, recovery program that included the use of pine pollen and nettle root extracts for hormonal support and and liposomal glutathione to reduce oxidative stress.

His pre-race preparation also involved learning how to optimize his ability to burn fat while, at the same time, take in enough calories to train and recover on. He needed to be able to train long and slow (which sometimes meant eight hours on an indoor trainer) but hard and fast as well.

I am happy to say that Brad has remained healthy throughout his many, arduous hours of training and a miraculous recovery from a serious, cycling accident in May (he suffered a fractured clavicle and hairline fracture in his hip when he was run down by a flock of angry geese on a training ride)!

I am also happy to report that with the race just a few days ahead, Brad feels strong and ready to go!

While on the road racing each day, Brad will be taking in 30 grams of FundAminos, 4 scoops of Chocoberry Blast, 2 scoops of beet powder and 4 Charge! tablets. His ability to finish will now be determined by his mental tenacity and ability to endure extreme fatigue, boredom, pain, and the always-present and unknown risks bicycle racing entails.

You can follow Team Enduring Hope as they embark on their epic, cross-county adventure beginning on June 20th via the RAAM site.

A few weeks ago, I shared the amazing fact that lobsters do not age, they get bigger, stronger and more virile as they get older. In fact, they never die unless they acquire a rare disease, are injured or are eaten!

The reason for this amazing feat of longevity is lobsters have the innate ability to lengthen their telomeres. As you may or may not know, telomeres are the protective end caps of our chromosomes, which naturally shorten as we age. When telomeres become too short, they fail to protect our chromosomes. The function of our cells becomes impaired and they begin to make mistakes as they replicate themselves. These mistakes are the reason we age. Check out the post.

Measuring the length of your telomeres can reveal your true biological age. And knowing the length of your telomeres can provide answers to questions like:

Is your dietary strategy on target? Are you taking enough of the right kind of nutritional supplements? Is the stress of life beginning to take its toll? Is a chronic lack of sleep wearing you down? Were you given the genetic gift of naturally-long telomeres or is your body aging prematurely?

While there are now several different telomere assessment options, the "gold standard" in testing is offered by Lifelength Lab in Spain. Life Length’s TAT®test is by far the most accurate and reliable telomere measurement tool in the world. You can learn more about the Lifelength TAT® assessment in this 5 minute video. And more about telomeres on their website at http://lifelength.com.

If you’re like most health-conscious people, you know that a healthy diet should include plenty of healthy fats. But what exactly are “healthy” fats? How do they from their “unhealthy” counterparts?

One clue will be an overview of how fats behave in temperature. They range from always being a solid at room temperature and stable in heat to only becoming a solid in the freezer and very unstable in heat.

Processed, fabricated fats like;Crisco and saturated margarine remain solid at almost any room temperature and almost never go bad....

As common to many endurance athletes, my annual training plan revolves around an “A” race in terms of planning and preparation. My A race is traditionally the Pole, Peddle, Paddle in Bend, Oregon each May.This multi-sport race gives me the opportunity to enjoy the fruits of my hard work and measure my fitness level compared to previous years. After having done the PPP for the past decade, I knew that 2014 would be a challenge; the planning of a big wedding, becoming a husband and growing my own business were all on my "to do" list. But these responsibilities weren't even the half of it! As as the year progressed, I helped my wife through two knee surgeries, recovered from a grease burn on my foot and dealt with a severe case of detergent-induced dermatitis that required steroid treatment. If someone had told me beforehand that I would not only overcome these life stressors but go to set a new personal record in this year's Pole, Paddle, Pedal, I would have told them they were crazy.

How did my fitness level increase despite all the stress?

Smarter training, for sure; but I attribute much of my success to following the Core 4 Nutrition principles: Become a fat burner, use proven supplements on a regular basis and eat homemade food.

Hard workouts + hard work = inflammation.

When I start to notice the visible signs of inflammation, I know that it's time to recover and heal. As I grow older, I find that I'm even more susceptible to developing chronic, inflammatory issues when my body isn’t given proper care and nutrition.

It’s easy to believe the common misconception that "more is better." But more effort in the face of excessive inflammation only leads to dead-end workouts, injury and burnout. Thanks to Dr. Cohen, who turned me on to the importance of keeping my Vitamin D and Omega 3 fatty acids high, I have used the Core 4 formulas to give my body the necessary support it needs to recover more fully and more completely. I've had to fight far fewer battles against inflammation and I've seen steady improvements in my personal performance for the past 3 years....

Being healthy and physically fit doesn’t have to be complicated. But it does require some attention to the scientific details.

If you want to feel and perform well, you’ll need to optimize your vitamin D3 level. Studies have clearly shown that vitamin D3 improves muscle reaction time, strength, balance, and coordination. You can refer to a previous post on this subject here.

But wait. There’s more!

A new study entitled Nutrients: Vitamin D and Human Health published in the journal Nutrients showed that vitamin D3 facilitates faster muscular recovery and prevents tissue damage following intense exercise...